Two small Pottstown businesses work together for growth

Two Pottstown small businesses are working together and recently began sharing space on West High Street. Shown here, from left, are Harvey Heimbach, owner of Palladino Metal Fabrication; Joelle Gassen, operations manager for Pro Tool Industries; and Peggy Lee-Clark, executive director of PAID Inc. Pro Tool makes the Woodman’s Pal machete; Palladino Metal recently began fabricating the blades for the product.
Donna Rovins — Digital First Media

Joelle Gassen, operations manager at Pro Tool Industries, displays the engraving on the Woodman’s Pal machete. Pro Tool and Palladino Metal Fabrication recently formed a business alliance — Palladino has become the raw material supplier for Pro Tool, and the companies are sharing work space on West High Street in Pottstown.
Donna Rovins — Digital First Media

Pottstown >> Two Pottstown businesses have joined forces in an alliance both hope will lead to expansion of their businesses.

Not only has Palladino Metal Fabrication become a new supplier for Pro Tool Industries, but the two businesses are now leasing space in the same building at 337 West High St.

Pro Tool Industries has been in Pottstown since 2001, and is the maker of the Woodman’s Pal — a machete that has uses in forestry, agriculture and horticulture. The blade can cut branches and wood up to 1 inch in diameter, while its sickle hook can cut through vines, briars and unwanted growth, according to information on the company’s website.

“We use all American-made products in our manufacturing. We sell online, on Amazon, and we have a network of dealers we sell to,” said Joelle Gassen, operations manager for Pro Tool, which has a history that dates back to the 1940s.

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Palladino Metal Fabrication has been in the Pottstown area since its founding in 1936. A full-service custom metal fabrication shop, Palladino supplies products across the country, according to owner Harvey Heimbach, who acquired the company in July.

“Our biggest aspect is we make oven panels — for curing ovens and powder coating. Our second biggest is we fabricate our own motorcycle ramps for the back of vehicles, which we design here and fabricate here,” he said.

Palladino is now fabricating and supplying the blades for Pro Tool’s Woodman’s Pal.

Pro Tool Industries is owned by a Pottstown area investment group, which bought the company in 2014. It was that group that began to bring the two companies together about a year ago, when Pro Tool began experiencing issues with its former blade supplier.

According to Heimbach, Palladino Metal was approached about becoming the raw material supplier.

“They wanted us to stamp out the blades. That’s how we got acquainted,” he said.

“The collaboration between us and Palladino makes it a more seamless process of material handling,” Gassen added.

According to Heimbach, the relationship expanded when the Robinson Street building where Palladino Metal Fabrication had been renting space, was put up for sale.

“I was working with them to find a place and Pro Tool was looking, and so we kind of tried to find one place where we could all work together and be closer,” Heimbach said.

The 7,500-square-foot space is located at 337 W. High St. — a former automotive machine shop — which Pro Tool’s owners purchased in June. The purchase price, according to county property records, was $204,000. Work then began on renovating the space.

In July, according to Gassen, the Pro Tool production area was being set up, while work to prepare the space for Palladino Metal Fabrication was continuing. Gassen said very little needed to be done for Pro Tool to move in to its production space. Heimbach added that more work was necessary in his part of the building.

“The back half of the shop had walls breaking the space up. We had to tear down the walls to make it one big spot. We went through eight 40-yard dumpsters,” he added.

Both companies were fully moved into the space in October. For Gassen, the move brought her company under one roof for the first time since 2015. She had been operating out of an office on High Street, while Pro Tool production was being done at a location on Laurel Street.

Unfortunately, Pro Tool experienced a setback during the transition to the new location when Blaine Grebe, the company’s production worker, passed away. Since then, Gassen said the company has been working to get production back on track. Now that the supply issue is resolved, she added, the company is working to get holiday orders completed.

“And in the beginning of 2018, we’re going to look at different advertising options — taking advantage of Amazon Marketplace and coming up with a new plan,” she said.

Heimbach said Palladino Metal will also be looking at different advertising options in the New Year.

Peggy Lee-Clark is the executive director of Pottstown Area Industrial Development Inc. (PAID Inc.), the economic development arm of Pottstown borough government.

Her organization was not part of the effort to bring the two companies under the same roof. However, she recently met with Gassen and Heimbach to share information about the role of PAID Inc. and “i Pick Pottstown,” the branding initiative designed to generate excitement about and attract businesses to Pottstown.

Lee-Clark said that while neither business is brand-new to Pottstown, she wanted them to know PAID Inc. can serve as a resource.

“It’s not just about getting businesses here, it’s about retaining businesses. So if there are challenges that come along — infrastructure, whatever, or ‘hey, do you know someone that can help us with...’ — that’s PAID Inc.’s role,” she said.

Lee-Clark added that there are partnerships like the Pro Tool, Palladino Metal Fabrication partnership that have happened “organically” in Pottstown.

“We’re hoping that with PAID Inc.’s connections, these will happen at a greater rate and be more strategic. It’s great that they have organically happened; we want to make sure it continues and we don’t just leave it to chance,” she added.

Pro Tool makes two versions of the Woodman’s Pal tool and is the only company in the U.S. to have the licensing to make the product. The Woodman’s Pal classic has a wooden handle, while the Woodman’s Pal Military Premium has a handle crafted of leather. The Woodman’s Pal was standard military issue from World War II through Desert Storm.

Palladino Metal Fabrication can shear, bend, roll any kind of material, and works with aluminum, stainless and titanium, according to Heimbach. For more information about Palladino Metal Fabrication visit https://palladinometal.com .